Planting in the West Indies 73 



to examine and report on the disease started 

 work a few weeks ago. " Since the disease 

 in the Philippines appears to attack only the 

 1 heart ' of the crown," writes O. W. Barrett, 

 " the symptoms are very readily noticeable 

 in the dying or yellowing of the leaves and 

 the dropping of the fruits. As soon as these 

 symptoms can be recognized as coming from 

 this particular disease the planter should lose 

 no time in felling the tree and in destroying 

 the bud and leaves thereof." If buried, at 

 least 1 8 in., and better still 24 in., of good 

 soil, not leaves and rubbish, should cover the 

 foliage, and great care must be taken not to 

 drag the diseased portions along the ground. 

 The only means of combating the disease is 

 to check its spread, and with attention this 

 can be done before its germs can mature 'and 

 be transmitted to the surrounding trees. We 

 hope to hear, therefore, that Cuba has accepted 

 the advice offered them, and by vigorously 

 fighting the disease, re-established the industry 

 once more in their midst. 



COCO-NUTS IN MAURITIUS. 



M. P. Boname, Director of the Station 

 Agronomique in Mauritius, published in 1909, 

 as Bulletin No. 19, an excellent report on coco- 

 nuts and their cultivation. The report is in 

 French and entitled " Notes sur la Composition 

 du Cocotier." Here he shows that, taken as a 

 whole, Mauritius is not greatly interested in 



